2 arenas and loads of classes for this competition so please come along and have a go. There are TWO classes at every level for everyone to enter; you don’t need to have qualified to enter as those competitors will be in a separate section to everyone else. A list of those who have qualified is above or contact Janice if you are not sure!

Would you like to enter the Area Winter Dressage Competition with a chance to qualify for the BRC Championships next year? You can enter as an Individual or join up with 3 others to form a team.

If you are interested in riding for your club please send your name, mobile number, horse name (as on passport), the test you want to ride and whether you wish to be in a team, go as an individual or don’t mind, to Janice at janrjjmm@btinternet.comno later than Fri 22nd Dec. We do the entries for you once we have sorted out who is interested in taking part.

If you would like to be part of a team, please make sure you are available for the Championship date should the team qualify!!

The organisers require 2 helpers per team this year and those riding as individuals will each be scheduled for 1 hour of helping around their test time. This is a vital part of participating in the Area events and you and/or your team can be disqualified if the helper slot is not filled. Please be prepared to help or to find others to help!!

You can enter a class in both the Novice and the Intermediate qualifiying events (both held on the same day). Entry fees are £17 per class. Please be aware that the club pay an advanced entry fee in addition to this which commits the place and so payment from you must be received by January 25th 2018 latest!

It’s a good fun day out and a relaxed atmosphere and there are usually spare spaces in trailers/lorries for transport. If there is interest I will try to schedule a training day at Grange Farm to run through the tests. Why not have a go!!

On Sunday 22nd February, after a painfully early alarm call, we all reached the yard and thankfully found our ponies relatively stain free and still plaited up. After quickly mucking out we loaded in the dark and headed off to Keysoe with high spirits. Despite getting lost twice (thanks to mum’s broken sat nav!!) we arrived in one piece, unloaded and checked in.

We then (with the help of the fantastic Liz Ennis) cleaned off any stray specs of dirt and tacked up. Liz did an amazing job helping us to spruce up the ponies and Maddy’s pony Archie’s tail looked amazing. We were all due to ride our tests in Arena 5 so made our way over together and warmed up. Again Liz was amazing and shouted out encouragement and a few last minute tips on how to get the ponies going nicely (and settle our nerves!) She was a great mentor and support for all of us.

Our team was down to 3 riders after an injury (fortunately not too serious) had meant Maddie Price had been forced to withdraw from the team earlier in the week. Becky Pick and Star were first up with the only novice test for the team. Star took it all in her stride and aced her test which set the pace for the rest of the team. Next up was Lucky (aka Codie) and myself. Codie had been eyeing up some X Country Jumps which were being used to separate the warm up from the arenas but luckily remembered he was wearing his white numnah and settled down to complete a very nice prelim test. Finally it was the turn of Maddy and Archie. Both were feeling a bit apprehensive but very excited as this was their first dressage test at a competition. They both acted like real pro’s and performed a great test.

Relieved the riding bit was now over we all headed back to the trailers to untack, wait and eat breakfast. Leaving the ponies to tuck into their hay nets, we set off in search of food and hopefully positive dressage sheets!

After eating large quantities of cheesy chips and bacon butties we looked over the photos which had been taken and then gathered for a group photo. The organisers had explained that the results would not be in until late morning so Liz very kindly offered to ring the results through to us so we could head home.

As we drove back (again taking another small detour!!) the call came through from Liz. We were heading home in ribbons with a team 5th plus an individual 3rd for me and a 6th for Maddy. This was fantastic news and teamed with the great comments we all received from the judges made the perfect end to a great day.